At the Pond: Swimming at the Hampstead Ladies' Pond - Softcover

'A small but wonderful collection that shares the joy of the Ladies' Pond ... At the Pond is a series of essays about a body of water but these essays are about so much more than that.'-- Outdoor Swimming Society

'Captures the exhilaration of a visit to the Ladies' Pond.'-- The Herald

'If you're a pond dipper / wild swimmer / have ever front-crawled alongside a family of fuzzy buttercup ducklings / peculiarly adored silt in your pores / swum in water so cold you can feel your blood wrapping your heart and lungs in an invisible thermal blanket... this beautiful collection of essays is for you.' -- Dolly Alderton

'There's a ringing clarity, like the most purposeful swim. And also, there's the kind of poetry I love, found in prosaic things like bus routes and mobile phones and in the way old cucumber goes mushy inside its shrink wrap. There's lots of wit and perspicacity. There's cool honesty, insight and warmth, even in the coldest months... For every writer I already liked, I was rewarded with a great new-to-me find. Each of the stories is like a swim - none will be regretted, and none can be 'wrong'.' --Jenny Landreth, Caught by the River

'To see this most precious oasis through the eyes and words of these writers is a treat' -- The I

'A joy to read perfect for when you need an escape from the stresses of everyday life.' -- Culturefly

'A joyous collection of essays celebrating the sanctuary of the women's pond on Hampstead Heath.' -- New Statesman

'In this collection of work, writers including Margaret Drabble, Esther Freud, Deborah Moggach and Sophie Mackintosh share their stories of the pond and reflect on its history and present.' --Stylist

'The Ladies' bathing ponds on Hampstead Heath are a London institution, whether it s sunny or snowy, so what better way to immortalise them than with a book?' --Red

Tucked away along a shady path towards the north-east edge of Hampstead Heath is a sign: Women Only. This is the Kenwood Ladies' Bathing Pond.

Floating in the Pond's silky waters, hidden by a canopy of trees, it's easy to forget that you are in the middle of London. On a hot day, thousands of swimmers from eight to eighty-plus can be found waiting to take a dip before sunbathing in the adjoining meadow. As summer turns to autumn and then winter, the Pond is still visited by a large number of hardy regulars in high-vis hats, many of whom have been swimming here for decades.

In these essays we see the Pond from the perspectives of writers who have swum there. Esther Freud describes the life-affirming sensation of swimming through the seasons; Lou Stoppard pays tribute to the winter swimmers who break the ice; Margaret Drabble reflects on the golden Hampstead days of her youth; Sharlene Teo visits for the first time; and Nell Frizzell shares the view from her yellow lifeguard's canoe.

Combining personal reminiscence with reflections on the history of the place over the years and through the changing seasons, At the Pond captures fourteen contemporary writers' impressions of this unique place.